Tag: NASA
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NASA Selects ULA’s Centaur 5 as Upper Stage for SLS Starting With Artemis 4
NASA has selected United Launch Alliance’s Centaur 5 upper stage for use on its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket beginning with the Artemis 4 mission, currently scheduled to launch no earlier than early 2028, according to contract documents released by the agency. Centaur 5 was originally developed as the upper stage for United Launch Alliance’s…
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Ding-dong! The Exploration Upper Stage is dead
In his 1961 novel The Winter of Our Discontent, John Steinbeck wrote of loss, “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.” The death of NASA’s Exploration Upper Stage today represents the inverse of that sentiment. The world of spaceflight is so much brighter…
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Vast Raises $300 Million Series A and Secures $200 Million Debt for Haven Space Station
U.S. space company Vast said it has raised $300 million in a Series A funding round and secured an additional $200 million in debt financing to support development of its Haven commercial space station. The financing brings the company’s total new funding to $500 million and is intended to support production of the Haven station,…
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Former NASA chief turned ULA lobbyist seeks law to limit SpaceX funding
A former NASA administrator says he is “encouraged” that the US Congress is considering legislation to prevent NASA from spending more than 50 percent of its launch funding on any single provider. “America succeeds in space when American companies compete, innovate, and grow,” former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote on LinkedIn. “I’m encouraged to see…
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NASA overhauls Artemis moon program — and Blue Origin’s lander may be given a bigger role
An artist’s conception shows the integrated design for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) NASA is reworking its Artemis moon program to add a test mission for commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit next year, with a crewed lunar landing to follow in 2028 at the earliest. The revised plan raises…
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SLS rocket hauled back to VAB for repairs
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2, carrying NASA’s Artemis 2 SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft secured to mobile launcher 1, rolls back Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to troubleshoot the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage.…
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Juno data provides insight into thickness of Europa’s surface ice sheet
Using recent data from NASA’s Juno orbiter, scientists have uncovered new details on the thickness and structure of Europa’s surface ice shell, which encases the Jovian moon’s subsurface ocean. For planetary scientists and astrobiologists, Europa’s ocean makes the moon one of the most likely places for life to exist outside of Earth. Since entering orbit…
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NASA’s Artemis 2 rocket hit by new problem expected to bump moonshot into early April
A closeup view shows the NASA’s Artemis 2 SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft and launch abort system atop at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis 2 test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina…
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Helium problem forces NASA to delay Artemis 2 launch to the moon and roll back the rocket
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, far left, walks around Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a team of troubleshooters working on a helium flow issue with the Space Launch System rocket in the background. (NASA Photo) NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says the giant rocket set to send four astronauts around the…
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NASA completes a smooth rehearsal for historic Artemis 2 moon launch
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket stands on its Florida launch pad. (NASA Photo / Aubrey Gemignani) NASA counted down to T-minus 29 seconds during a smooth rehearsal for a historic launch that could send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than half a century. The run-through at Launch Complex 39B, at…